Related papers: On the linearity of higher-dimensional blocking se…

We develop a sieve that can detect primes in multiplicatively structured sets under certain conditions. We apply it to obtain a new $L$-function free proof of Linnik's problem of bounding the least prime $p$ such that $p\equiv a\pmod q$…

A $P_q(t,k,n)$ $q$-packing design is a selection of $k$-subspaces of $\F_q^n$ such that each $t$-subspace is contained in at most one element of the collection. A successful approach adopted from the Kramer-Mesner-method of prescribing a…

In a projective plane $\Pi _{q}$ (not necessarily Desarguesian) of order $q,$ a point subset $S$ is saturating (or dense) if any point of $\Pi _{q}\setminus S$ is collinear with two points in$~S$. Using probabilistic methods, the following…

Let $q\ge 3$ be a non-exceptional modulus $q\ge3$, and let $a$ be a positive integer coprime with $q$. For any $\epsilon>0$, there exists $\alpha>0$ (computable), such that for all $x\ge \alpha (\log q)^2$, the interval $\left[…

A family of sets has the $(p, q)$ property if among any $p$ members of it some $q$ intersect. It is shown that if a finite family of compact convex sets in $\R^2$ has the $(p+1,2)$ property then it is pierced by $\lfloor \frac{p}{2} \rfloor…

We show that the reduced point variety of a quantum polynomial algebra is the union of specific linear subspaces in $\mathbb{P}^n$, we describe its irreducible components and give a combinatorial description of the possible configurations…

A $q$-covering design $\mathbb{C}_q(n, k, r)$, $k \ge r$, is a collection $\mathcal X$ of $(k-1)$-spaces of $\mathrm{PG}(n-1, q)$ such that every $(r-1)$-space of $\mathrm{PG}(n-1, q)$ is contained in at least one element of $\mathcal X$ .…

The complexity of a quantum gate, defined as the minimal number of elementary gates to build it, is an important concept in quantum information and computation. It is shown recently that the complexity of quantum gates built from random…

In this short note we prove that the finite non-abelian simple groups PSL(2,q), where q = 5,7, are determined by their posets of classes of isomorphic subgroups. In particular, this disproves the conjecture in the end of [5].

We look for minimizers of the buckling load problem with perimeter constraint in any dimension. In dimension 2, we show that the minimizing plates are convex; in higher dimension, by passing through a weaker formulation of the problem, we…

Fix $k$ a positive integer, and let $\ell$ be coprime to $k$. Let $p(k,\ell)$ denote the smallest prime equivalent to $\ell \pmod{k}$, and set $P(k)$ to be the maximum of all the $p(k,\ell)$. We seek lower bounds for $P(k)$. In particular,…

It is conjectured that if a finite set of points in the plane contains many collinear triples then there is some structure in the set. We are going to show that under some combinatorial conditions such pointsets contain special…

Let $\mathcal{O}$ be a conic in the classical projective plane $PG(2,q)$, where $q$ is an odd prime power. With respect to $\mathcal{O}$, the lines of $PG(2,q)$ are classified as passant, tangent, and secant lines, and the points of…

An $(n,r)$-arc in $PG(2,q)$ is a set $B$ of points in $PG(2,q)$ such that each line in $PG(2,q)$ contains at most $r$ elements of $B$ and such that there is at least one line containing exactly $r$ elements of $B$. The value $m_r(2,q)$…

A $(k,m)$-Furstenberg set $S \subset \mathbb{F}_q^n$ over a finite field is a set that has at least $m$ points in common with a $k$-flat in every direction. The question of determining the smallest size of such sets is a natural…

We study Brauer's long-standing $k(B)$-conjecture on the number of characters in $p$-blocks for finite quasi-simple groups and show that their blocks do not occur as a minimal counterexample for $p\ge5$ nor in the case of abelian defect.…

Consider an i.i.d. sequence of random variables whose distribution f* lies in one of a nested family of models M_q, q>=1. The smallest index q* such that M_{q*} contains f* is called the model order. We establish strong consistency of the…

The k-monotone classes of densities defined on (0, \infty) have been known in the mathematical literature but were for the first time considered from a statistical point of view by Balabdaoui and Wellner (2007, 2010). In these works, the…

A $t$-$(n,k,\lambda)$ design over $\F_q$ is a collection of $k$-dimensional subspaces of $\F_q^n$, called blocks, such that each $t$-dimensional subspace of $\F_q^n$ is contained in exactly $\lambda$ blocks. Such $t$-designs over $\F_q$ are…

Let G be a complete convex geometric graph on 2m vertices, and let F be a family of subgraphs of G. A blocker for F is a set of edges, of smallest possible size, that meets every element of F. In [C. Keller and M. A. Perles, On the smallest…